SPECIFICATIONS

Overall Length 14' 3"
Waterline Length   10' 10"
Beam   49”

Waterline width 39” / 36”
Draft (board up/down)   5"/27"
Depth amidships   14.8” / 13.4”
Bare hull weight 115 lbs (150 rigged)

Displacement 515 lbs

Sail area 64 SF (no sail for rower)

The Caravelle Skiff shares many features with her smaller sibling, the Echo Bay Dory Skiff.  The design brief for the Caravelle was to preserve the lightness and convenience of the Echo Bay in a longer boat suitable for tandem rowing and sailing.  Weighing only 115lbs (sailing version), the Caravelle can still be transported on top of a car, greatly increasing the territory to be easily explored.  While an excellent sailboat, the Caravelle also makes a great dedicated rowing skiff. Her profile has been carefully drawn with a partially submerged stem to prevent pounding and maximize waterline length, and a transom just clear of the water, allowing for high efficiency under oars.

KEY FEATURES

• easy to manage on land for a tandem boat due to it’s lightness and narrower beam than a daysailer

• a great sailboat for an adult and kid, capacity for both

• can be cartopped, moved in a pick up truck and easily moved with a light trailer

As with the Echo Bay, the Caravelle is a sprightly sailor.  Initially more stable than a dory, her flared sides generate tremendous stability under a press of sail, and the profile of the bow ensures that she cuts through the water without pounding.  When off the wind, the Caravelle’s longer waterline and flat bottom allow for a surprising turn of speed.  As with the Echo Bay, flotation tanks fore and aft ensure peace of mind in rough weather.

My first sail in the Caravelle Skiff was on a late fall day, with a fresh wind out of the west.  I was concerned that the boat might feel tippy under sail, but when the first gust pushed the rail down she began shouldering through the water with very little fuss. With her excellent rowing performance, natural sailing ability, and ease of transport, the Caravelle Skiff represents the perfect combination of performance and practicality.

The new Caravelle Rower launched in 2023 is a whole new chapter for the design. Longer, leaner, and faster, this rowing skiff will delight seasoned rowers as well as introduce new rowers to the pleasure of rowing a fine rowing craft with a quality pair of oars. Learn more on the new Caravelle Rower page.

The Caravelle story is very similar to the Echo Bay Dory Skiff. How can one get the capacity, seaworthiness and versatility of a dory into the body of a dinghy that can row and sail like the dickens? The Caravelle can be seen as a stretched version of the Echo Bay but it is not that simple: it was very much distinct from the Echo Bay with its own purposes in mind. One was to achieve a lightweight, cartoppable dinghy design that can be rowed by two adults. She was intended to primarily be a fast rowing skiff and a number of Caravelle plans and kits have been built for just rowing in mind. But the overall stability of the hull meant that a sail rig could very effectively be added. When these skiffs are pressed down, tremendous stability results as the flared hull settles in the water. Under a press of sail, the skiff is as fun as it is under oars. She cuts through the water with hardly any sound from the bow except for the bow wave. So many flat-bottom skiffs slap the water as they move through a chop, but not this one.